THE BIBLE
Can we trust a book written 2000 years ago?

EYEWITNESS
Did the writers of the New Testament get their picture of Jesus right?

GOD - MAN
Is Jesus really God?

RESURRECTION
Did Jesus really rise from the dead?

RELIGIONS
With so many religions, why Christianity?

SUFFERING
If there is a God, why is there so much suffering?

TRINITY
Understanding the Trinity.

SCIENCE
The complementary nature of Science & Christianity.

FORGIVENESS
What it is and why it matters?

GUIDANCE
How does God guide?

REPENTANCE
What it is and why you can't get to heaven without it.

BORN AGAIN
What does it mean to be converted and born again?

SAVING FAITH
The kind of faith that will get you to heaven

ASSURANCE
Can I know for sure that I am going to heaven?

TRUTH
What is truth and does it matter?

MORALITY
Does it matter how we live? A Christian view of morality.

THE CHURCH
God's vision for his family, the Church. A call to the churches of the new millennium.

PURPOSE
How can I find a great purpose for living?

IDENTITY
Who am I; Finding my true identity as a human being and as a child of God.

SELF-ESTEEM
How can I feel good about my self? The Christian basis for proper sel-esteem.

LIFE AFTER DEATHChristianity's Hope & Challenge.

THE CROSS
Why did Jesus Die? What the Bible says about the Cross.

Grace
The importance of grace in the New Testament.

The cross in Hebrews

The major theme of the central chapters of Hebrews (4:14-10:39) is how Christ fulfilled, in his life, death and resurrection, the symbolism inherent in the sacrificial rituals of the first covenant established with the Israelite people at Mount Sinai. I have gone into this in some detail under the headings “The smitten rock—God in the dock”, “Animal sacrifices” and “Day of Atonement—the rent curtain” in the chapter on the cross in the Old Testament. I won’t repeat that here. However the writer has several other significant references to the cross that I have not mentioned there.

In the first chapter, verse 3, he summarises who Christ is and what he achieved by his coming to earth. “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” It is significant that, of all the achievements of Christ which he could have mentioned, he focuses on this, the dealing with our sins. It is obvious from the rest of the letter that he sees the cross as the means by which this was achieved. The idea of purification, or cleansing, was a common one in Jewish thinking as it was the main focus of their religious rituals, and the word was used of either ritual or of moral cleansing. Whether as a verb or a noun, it is also used with reference to the cross (either directly or by implication) in Hebrews 9:14, 23; 2 Peter 1:9 and 1 John 1:7. As the writer of Hebrews declares, the cross can do what the sacrifices provided under the old covenant could never do, that is, “cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (9:14).

The writer of Hebrews has two interesting passages where he speaks of Christ’s identification with us, both in our humanity and in our suffering. Both of these occur in the context of speaking of his suffering in death. The first passage is in chapter 2, verses 9-18. In verse 9 he declares that Jesus “tasted death for everyone.” He then says that Jesus was made “perfect through what he suffered” (v. 10). He goes on to say that the reason he shared in our full humanity of flesh and blood was that “by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (vv. 14, 15). Finally he says: “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (v. 18).

I understand the main point of this passage to go something like this: to achieve what he came to do, Jesus, though not ceasing to be God, the Second Person of the divine Trinity, fully identified with us in every respect. This meant that he not only became fully human in a physical sense, he also chose to be identified with us in our very human suffering. He is “Like [us]…in every way” (v. 17). Because he went to the very limit of human obedience in submitting to a degree of suffering such as none other has been called to do, he was “made perfect” in the sense of demonstrating perfect obedience to God to the extreme boundary. It was precisely in this role as perfect man, and as our representative, that he was uniquely fitted to experience death for us all, which is the ultimate consequence for our sin. In doing so he broke the power of the devil’s hold over us. Satan has the power of death, as he is the one who would lure us into sin and its consequences. However, he can no longer accuse us of our sins and point to our ultimate condemnation. We are freed by our forgiveness to face death without fear of what may lie beyond. Jesus, also, because of his sufferings, is perfectly fitted to understand and support us in our temptations (or “trials”—the Greek uses the same word for both). He is perfectly equipped to be a “merciful and faithful high priest” (V. 17).

In chapter 5, verses 7-9, the writer gives a similar emphasis where he says: “Jesus…offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” I understand the phrase “he was heard” to mean that his Father gave him the strength to go through with his sufferings, as he was obviously not saved from death itself. Maybe it looks forward to the resurrection beyond. His submission to his Father’s will is an example for us who may also be called to suffer in obedience to his will (see 1 Peter 4:19). Jesus “learned obedience” in that he experienced it to an extreme he had not experienced it before. It is significant that the theme of Christ's "obedience" in the New Testament always occurs in reference to his suffering and death.

Like Paul (Philippians 2:8,9) and John (Revelation 5), Christ’s exultation is directly associated with his cross. “He is crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death” (Hebrews 2:9).

As for Paul it is “access” to God that he emphasises as a primary blessing of justification (Romans 5:2; Ephesians 2:18; 3:12), so the writer of Hebrews speaks of the privilege of being able to “draw near” to God through the great High Priest who has dealt with our sins (4:16; 7:19-25; 10:22).

In chapter 12 the writer also looks on the cross as an example of patient endurance in the face of evil, endurance he calls us to follow. “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (v. 2, 3).

This emphasis on the shame of the cross, and on looking beyond suffering to its joyful outcome, is an emphasis he also repeats in chapter 13. “The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come” (vv. 11-13). There are plenty of instances today where, even in our secular Western society, we may be regarded as “outsiders”. We are to embrace this for Jesus’ sake—providing, of course, that the shame is caused by our goodness rather than our badness! Peter has more to say about that (1 Peter 3:15-17; 4:14-16). R. T. Kendall in an article in the magazine Christianity, has a poignant comment on the above passage:

Had you walked into Jerusalem on Good Friday and asked the religious people, ‘What is God doing here today?’ they would have answered, ‘It’s Passover and we can hardly wait to celebrate it—if only that wicked thing on the cross outside the gate would hurry up and die.’ No one remotely dreamed at the time that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself by the death of his Son (2 Corinthians 5:19). Never forget that Jesus was crucified outside the city of Jerusalem and God has continued to manifest his glory outside the camp. We therefore must be willing to go outside the camp—continually—and bear his reproach. Some would even say, ‘The further out the better.’

At the end of his letter the writer has an interesting turn of phrase in which he links very closely the death of Christ with his resurrection. They are both of one package in the salvation story. “Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (v. 20, 21). With reference to this passage, I find helpful a paragraph in Thomas Hewitt’s commentary on Hebrews in the Tyndale New Testament Commentaries series:

Frequent references have been made in the Epistle to the ascension and glorification of Christ, but brought again from the dead is the only direct allusion to His resurrection.[40] The fact that Christ was raised from the dead in virtue of the eternal covenant is proof that His redeeming work had been accepted and that salvation for His people is assured. In other words, all that is said about Christ in this Epistle is genuine, for God has set His seal upon it. The phrase itself may be reminiscent of Isaiah 63:11, which refers to the bringing up of Moses, the shepherd of the sheep, out of the sea, which, Westcott suggests, ‘was a shadow of Christ’s ascent from the grave.’ The Lord Jesus became the one and only great Shepherd of the sheep in virtue of His shed blood by which the eternal covenant was sealed. He had performed an act which could be repeated by no other, and He received a position which could be held by no other.

[40] Though it is implied often enough and there are many references or hints in the letter to the resurrection of believers in the future.

It is worth stating in summary that the main aim of the writer of Hebrews, is to present Christianity as the final and absolute religion because it does perfectly what all religion aims to do. This aim is expressed in the use of one of his favourite words, “eternal” (Greek aiônios). John, in his Gospel and letters, uses this word 23 times, but usually in connection with “life”, and it is the combination of these words, rather than its use as an adjective that is characteristic. But in Hebrews “eternal” is used more significantly, though less frequently. Jesus is the author of “eternal salvation” (5:9). This salvation is final and there is need of nothing more. There is no peril beyond it. The gospel includes the proclaiming of “eternal judgement” (6:2), that is, judgement from which there is no appeal. Christ has obtained “eternal redemption” for us (9:12), the validity of which lasts forever. Those who accept this Saviour and his salvation receive an “eternal inheritance” (9:15), a city with foundations from which God’s people go out no more. And finally, the blood of Christ is the blood of an “eternal covenant” (13:20). Through the death of Christ a relationship is established between God and humans that has the character of finality. God has spoken his last word and has nothing in reserve. The foundation has been laid for a kingdom that can never be removed or shaken (12:25-29). It is this finality, achieved both because of who Jesus was, and what he did on the cross, that dominates the book.

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